Baby food in Church - and the decline of the Episcopal Church.

On Sunday mornings I join with other Christians at a local congregation in order to:

worship God,

to pray with others,

to enjoy the company of other believers,

to receive bread and wine in a commemoration of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ,

and to be challenged towards a deeper faithfulness and obedience  to God -  and to deeper concern (and action)  for the sad, sorrowful and unjust world which God loves so much.

I do not "go to Church" to be amused by sermons, or to be entertained with music.

I am frequently disappointed.

I hope that I worship.

I know that I pray.

I am glad to be with other believers,  and to eat the bread and drink the wine which is filled with Christ.

But oh those sermons,  how feeble they are, how utterly inconsequential, how devoid of challenge to obedient discipleship.

Such was the case at my local Episcopal parish today.

We had a guest preacher.

His sermon sheer pabulum as he tried and failed (as well he might) to connect the civic holiday called Mother's Day, with the Gospel passage which was about Jesus the good and unpredictable Shepherd.

I was never sure if he was talking about Jesus Christ, or about an idealized "Hallmark moment" mother. 

It was truly dreadful.

I was not amused.

It is my opinion that this baby-food preaching is almost the norm in the Episcopal Church, and that it plays its part in our denominational decline.


Comments

  1. cyclingpadre12 May 2014 at 07:36

    Yesterday, I preached on the Acts lesson, challenged the parish in their understanding of the mission and ministry of the church. Unfortunately, since it was Mothers Day we only had a small congregation, secular holiday over gathering together to pray and share in the Eucharist.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not remember the words “ar
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were able to get together a few
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur
Read more